Asteroid 2012 DA14 flyby LIVE WEBCAST

Small near-Earth asteroid 2012 DA14 will pass very close to Earth on February 15. A record close approach for a known object of this size

The Asteroid will pass so close that it will pass inside the ring of geosynchronous weather and communications satellites. The Asteroid is not considered to be at a collision course with Earth. The flyby will provide a unique opportunity for researchers to study a near-Earth object up close. The Bareket observatory in Israel will offer a special Live view of the close approach, using a remote Telescope accessible via the Internet.

NEW - watch the first batch of materials from the live webcast! (more to follow - stay tuned)

Since the data load from the incoming images is so extent, our system limits itself to refreshing about every 30 to 60 seconds. This means the image will appear static, then reset itself automaticaly.

If you watch for a period of perhaps 3 minutes or so, you will notice appreciable movement against the background stars (see an example for this relative motion at our Comet P1 webcast below). The Telescope tracking is set on the Asteroid itself, so it will appear to stay in place – while the background stars will move each time it refreshes.

There can also be unforeseen glitches, (such as viewer overload) so please be patient! You don’t have to click anywhere else – when the broadcast is happening it will be right here...

Image: Asteroids. Credit - NASA,JPL

Further information:

1. Watch the after session movie from the Bareket observatory's Live webcast of Comet P1 Garradd with Universe todayThis was a 6 hour live feed of the comet, opened a window to the universe for teachers, students and the general public. During the event more than 400 long exposure images was captured. The Internet telescope pinpointed the comet's core with extreame accuracy.

The public was encourage to submit their "ask the astronomer" questions, via a dedicated online form, before or during the live event. The event was broadcasted Live at NASA website as well as at the Bareket observatory's web site. There were total of 2 independed webcasts, each one took about 1.5 hours in duration.